I guess this qualifies as a garden project.I've decided to paint the fence behind my driveway bed even though it belongs to the neighbour. The guy who originally built the fence has long since moved away and there are now useless renters living there. Since I'm the one looking at the peeling mess I want to clean it up. I've scraped and wire brushed the loose paint and now it's decision time. I don't want to spend a lot of time and energy on this as the fence wasn't built properly ie too close to the ground etc, but I don't want to have to paint it every year either. The clerk at Home Hardware suggested oil based white stain. Do you think that's a good idea? I wasn't able to remove all the existing paint but there's lots of bare wood, but still mostly white probably latex paint.

MarieZone 1b, Northern MBOne of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides. ~W.E. Johns, The Passing Show

Oil paint is out due to new environmental regs that came out a few years ago.

All oil based stock you see on shelves are end-of-life products. You can call the paint companies for yourself to confirm, or check Enviro-Canada's website.

I think there may be a prov or two where the end-of-life was extended (going by memory, but not 100% sure about that).

IN the states it's the same thing (except for a few states who still allow it). Use-up of old oil based products on shelves only and no replacement.

So let us look at this scenario:

1. you buy oil based paint today2. you break your back stripping the old paint3. you break your back re-painting.4. 3-5 years down the road you want to touch it up.. oh wait... you can't... oil paint no longer exists on the shelves.5. Start stripping....

So avoid all oil based products. It's all end-of-life stuff on shelves to be gotten rid of and it's not going to be restocked.

Only Sico has an approved brand of paint out that falls within the new reg's which does contain a percentage low VOC's oil. When I was speaking to them, they are not sure how long they will be able to continue producing it since production is also affected by the new enviro reg's. Mulco (ie. Sico manufacturer) pulled out of Canada and moved to Texas to be able to continue production of some of these oil based products.

I think what you should do, and there are different opinions based on who you talk to, is:1. Confirm if this is latex on your fence.2. Settle on a brand of latex/water based stain (or paint if you want to go paint)3. Call the manufacturer who have toll free numbers4. Discuss how this product will roll over and cover whatever it is already on the fence that you didn't strip off.

This is the easiest and less costly thing to do. There are others things you can do, but it requires more work and more money.

Avoid the end-of-life oil products. Reputable companies have the new enviro reg's on display for you to see. Mickey mouse companies don't display it in order to get rid of old stock.

U can remove all the old paint on the fence with heat. A tedious process, and yr almost bound to burn yr knuckles at least once. When I was a builder, my customers would expect that kind of a job . . . or a new fence entirely.

On an old fence the paint that is not peeling off now will probably peel off in the future, but u can make it last longer with your fresh coat of stain now. So the easiest way to deal with it is to paint/stain what u have now . . . with latex. If u seal the edges of the old patches of paint, they may stay intact forever.

Then, three or four years from now *or 5, or 6*, if and when more of the old paint has peeled, paint/stain it again.

I hate scraping!! lol

PS - Oil based paint cures hard. The shrink/expand cycle will crack it. Not so with latex, which always stays flexible when it cures.

Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience......Ralph Waldo Emmerson....

lol yeah I did the heat gun thing once and lost the skin off my knuckles scraping, not to mention the burns on the raw finger meat (did it on stone when someone mis-painted).

I think she will need to determine what it is exactly on that fence now.

Don't hold me to this because different brands have different chemistries involved, and different qualities. But, if this is very old faded oil stain (and I mean faded), then chances are you *could* get away with putting latex over oil. Maybe with a Sico or a Sikkens brand. Don't even touch Bher. And this would be a shot in the dark. Sometimes its great, sometimes it's not and will peel. *Note* this is for stain, *not* paint.

Normally you would put a primer over the old oil *paint* when switching to latex. Unless it's very old faded oil stain, in which case the wood would become receptive to a point.

If this is latex already, then stay latex (avoid oil). Just maybe sand it down with an 80-grit sandpaper block or less to open the pores up and rough the wood up slightly

But if you want to go oil, be aware of what I stated above. 2013 it's no longer supposed to be on the shelves. The fall of 2012 (if memory serves me) is the last season oil is supposed to be sold (or on the shelves).

You can take some rubbing alcohol to the old paint (clean off the old paint with hot water first to both clean it and to warm up the old paint before rubbing with alcohol). If rubbing the old paint with rubbing alcohol causes paint to come off on your rag, or causes the old paint to get soft, then it's latex. If not... Oil.

Yes!!! Use the oil based stain that was reccommended to you!!! ( see how I answer the question you actually asked and not come up with all sorts of complicated stuff that had nothing to do with it whatsoever???? )

Anyways...have been trying to figure out what to use on my front porch columns and rails and my contractor friend....I babysit his kid....HIGHLY recommends the solid oil stain.

It will go on as easier. doesn't chip or crack and because it is a stain, will last longer than paint. Not to mention there is much less prep work, and it looks as good as paint!

kelly_m wrote:Yes!!! Use the oil based stain that was reccommended to you!!! ( see how I answer the question you actually asked and not come up with all sorts of complicated stuff that had nothing to do with it whatsoever????

Guess that settles it then. Put the oil stain over whatever paint you have.

Well I've determined that it does come off with rubbing alcohol so it should be latex. Thanks for suggesting that. I've done that for indoor painting but didn't even think of it for the fence. I just assumed it was latex. I can guarantee I won't be using any heat gun out there. That sounds like too much work. But in the process of cleaning a spot to do the test I decided that the fence is very dirty so I should probably wash it. But I'm still undecided. The fence was painted with latex and is peeling miserably. Not exactly a selling feature. On the other hand I detest using oil based paint. And Dumbo makes a good point about it becoming unavailable in the future. Thanks for the input though. I will have to do something now. I've made the fence look really bad!

MarieZone 1b, Northern MBOne of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides. ~W.E. Johns, The Passing Show

Is it possible for you to post a picture of it? Just want to try and ball park the work involves and maybe some costs via various routes you can take.

That is, if you want.

Length of the fence would also be nice.

EDIT:If you just want quick and dirty, instead of best possible quality, rent or borrow a pressure washer. Using the "fan" nozzle I would use a standard 1200PSI one if you've never done this before since a higher pressure one can damage the wood.

This should strip off all the loose paint + clean it (you can toss a mild detergent in the tank, or bio-degradable one if you want). Then you can concentrate it on what's left.